Despite proclaiming themselves as purveyors of power pop and pop punk, female-fronted Canadian outfit Redambergreen proves to have a lot more subtlety and refined idiosyncrasies woven throughout their material than one would expect from the aforementioned oft-derivative styles. “No City”, the band’s most recent five-song crash course in love, loss and everything in between is such—a mature, revived affair of a genre that desperately needed something this fresh right about now.

But to quickly lump Redambergreen under the power pop umbrella with sonic leaders like Paramore and certain incarnations of Emery would be doing their sound a great disservice. You can, of course, hear clips of Haley Williams in Sara Preston’s delivery throughout “No City”, but Preston’s voice has a far more intriguing, almost amplified appeal to it. Her vocal cords jump and crunch perfectly in rhythm with the deceivingly intricate distorted guitar in “Poison”, as if it takes no effort at all to mimic Phil Regimbal’s copper vibrations. “The Night We Won the War” finds her voice floating up and down the vocal register like clouds, delicate but confident, interesting yet approachable.

While Redambergreen certainly does have a wonderfully comforting and, yes, approachable sound, the band expands greatly on the general immediacy of upbeat power pop by offering their own counterpoint to it: a more brooding, contemplative aural mixture that still somehow maintains the genre’s catchiness. EP-opener “Storms and Rain” (note the melancholy) wastes no time in pulling back the curtains on Redambergreen’s dark rock tendencies, but the clever bouncy guitar picking in the verses manages to keep the band on course and prevents them from plunging into a black cave of maudlin, sulking slow jams. “Good Intentions”, though still more overcast than sunshine, offers a bright light of positivity right at the conclusion of “No City” with Preston belting out, “Let’s make a memory tonight”. Clearly, “No City” is worth remembering.

The crowds would seem to agree with that sentiment, since Redambergreen is completely sold out of their first run of CDs—no easy feat for a blooming underground act. With more on the way, though, and having already nabbed a spot on a London radio station’s “Top 30” charts, I think Redambergreen may really be onto something here. There may be no city built for music like this, yet, but having already proven the malleability of a genre with over ten years of repeat bolstering its foundation, Redambergreen are already well on their way to building it themselves.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the single can make or break any band in a matter of a few seconds. Alive In Standby, though, chose to not let a tall order such as this intimidate them, and fearlessly unleashed their newest song, “Weigh You Down”, a few months back to an unbelievably positive response. Just adding on to their already very strong track record of releases, Alive In Standby made sure their new music had a message: that they are here to stay.

The Michigan band is a noticeably eclectic affair, which always works to their advantage. Pairing the intros of “Weigh You Down” and “Miracle Maker” together creates two distinctly contrasting sounds, the former painting a colorful, refined alternative rock picture and the latter taking things to a theatrical, cinematic extreme. Chris Koo’s bombastic keys are primarily responsible for the arresting, drop-everything-and-listen nature of “Miracle Maker”, which lift the listeners’ attention to great heights just as the repeated gang vocal refrain of “Yeah” brings the track to an emotional climax, and that’s all before the first verse even begins.

“Weigh You Down” is a bit more of a cultivated offering, clearly the result of many hours of meticulous planning and polishing. The positive melodies churning under well-executed, diverse screams add yet another layer of intrigue to an already varied collage of a band, but Alive In Standby presents their best-wrapped package of professionalism with Ben Wilkins’ guitar. A very seasoned player, Wilkins doesn’t need a 40 second solo to prove his talent, and instead, opts to add his perfect shade of high-end riffs over and over again to the percussion, always favoring melody over showboating, and never failing to disappoint.

With an accomplished track like “Weigh You Down” currently dominating Youtube, it won’t be long before Alive In Standby is on the radar of millions, rather than thousands, and with a recent stint on Warped Tour in addition to nabbing the opening slots on local Breathe Carolina and Dance Gavin Dance shows, there’s nowhere to go but up for these young Michigan craftsmen. Take a load off and make room for Alive in Standby. There are far worse weights that could be on your shoulders these days.

Between all of the economic decline and Matt Stafford woes, you’d think Detroit wouldn’t have time to have such a thriving positive local music scene, but it’s quite the opposite, actually. The Fluke, a pop punk band continuing to carry the torch for the genre monoliths from the early 2000's, somehow has learned to make the most of the unfortunate present, sublimating their post-recession anger into walls of powerchords since 2010, which, if you ask me, couldn’t have been a better choice.

2013’s “Underage Thinking” opens on a familiar, but welcomed note with “Greek Tragedy”, a lighthearted, human reflection on David West's past mistakes. West, the lead vocalist, does an incredibly smart thing by openly taking the blame (“I’m sorry I was that way”) without embellishing or sugarcoating the past (his actions were “like a cheap shot below the belt”), which is about as real as it can get in my book. Far too many lyricists fail to come to terms with their own short-comings, often painting themselves as some larger-than-life preachers that can do no wrong, but West shows himself as an actual person with actual problems, and becomes far more relatable in the end.

Thankfully, even though he may not have the perfect past, he’s got a great band to back him up. Austin Fillenworth opens up “Greek Tragedy” perfectly with an extended drum intro, fast but precise, before the rest of the band launches into the song, primarily composed of well-executed powerchords and palm-muting. “Twenty One (Underage Thinking)” has one of the strongest intros on the album, beginning only with a bass, but soon snowballing into a full-band assault. “Good Thing” ventures into NOFX territory, and “Slacker” is the best fast song that Sum 41 never wrote. The album closer, "Going Away", is a strong finish and the listener gets a chance to hear a different side of the fluke in this powerful pop punk ballad.

With “Underage Thinking”, The Fluke have crafted an engaging journey through 2000's pop punk, free of the clunky breakdowns and excessive harmonies that are all too prevalent in the modern style, and additionally free of the maudlin prepubescent lyrics, often way too fixated on loss. I didn’t think it was possible to do a mature take on such a commonly perceived immature genre, but The Fluke, not by chance, have found a way to update the sound without changing past conventions. It wasn’t an easy feat, and luckily for these Detroit boys, in a few years they’ll be able to reward themselves with a legal beer. Until then, they're going to have to settle for some underage shredding.

There are plenty of bands and people that want to be back in the 80's these days, or (maybe better) just relive them. While Crashdollz, a nostalgic punk metal band from Detroit, certainly has music that could have commanded the airwaves at the time, they moreso cultivate that classic atmosphere in their own way and update it for today’s music fans. It’s not often that we find a band so simultaneously in tune with the past and the present, but when we do, we can’t get enough of it.

If the live videos are any indication, Crashdollz are about as anomalous as it gets on stage. Lead singer, Nikki Darling, cockily struts across the stage in her high heels, sneering and snarling at the crowd, all while her middle fingers bombard the audience without a care in the world. Lead guitarist, Rachel Rekkit, has an equally intimidating presence and somehow finds a way to run into the crowd and back in high heels, without ever missing a note during her ever impressive solos. If Mötley Crüe drifted up from the underworld as females and were way tougher than they ever were with Tommy Lee, you’d have the perfect recipe for CrashDollz.

Lead single “Novocaine” is the most alluring introductory package for the band, with its bold attitude and confident lyrics, “You got that thing that I need / I’m a junkie for your disease”. Darling’s snotty delivery is only made more powerful by her unabashed, open nature—this woman isn’t afraid of anything, and she’s going to prove it to you, time and time again. After some impressive speed and energy, the song slows down in tempo during the bridge, as a fuzzy Rekkit solo emerges to seemingly cap off the track. Then, the song immediately jolts back to life thanks to the drums, and CrashDollz finishes the song in style, as strong as it began.

With an entire album to dive into on Bandcamp, and a live show that dominates the stage, CrashDollz has no shortage of material, and spunk, to offer to the world, and all of it is right at our fingertips. If you’re looking to take a journey to the past while still feeling in tune with the present, and getting something fresh and new, CrashDollz, in all of their fierceness and energy, is the answer. If you’re not looking for something like that, these musicians are as confident as it comes, and they’ll gladly give you a big "F*** YOU" as they continue to rock on!

The restrictiveness of the common pop punk approach, loved by some, dismissed by many, can often sink a band into a stillborn cage of purgatory long before any actual powerchords crunch their way into an audience’s headphones. Of course, I’m as indebted to my influences as any musician should be, but there comes a point when only so much of your sleeve can bear those nostalgic homages before you become a thin shell of yourself—a derivative, cheaply manufactured off-brand, never to surpass or equal that which came before you. Midwest Skies, a Michigan pop punk outfit, while fully aware of their place in the AP.net music spectrum, grabs their musical forefathers’ work by the throat and runs with it, fearlessly. This is their music, too, you know, and they sure know how to make it their own.

“Wish You Were Here”, the band’s latest EP, offers five songs of pop punk celebration, where advancement is far less of a priority than actualizing the genre’s resilience. Right from the opening layered distortion of “Like Me, Like You”, any misgivings you may have about the style immediately evaporate, as Midwest Skies presents themselves as simply that: themselves. No gimmicks, no over-photoshopped images, just fun, upbeat, and catchy songs played remarkably well.

The constant vocal harmonies, fist-pumping riffs, and diverse drumming from Josh Jones (the second verse change to the fast typewriter beat, especially), make the opening track the perfect amuse-bouche for what’s to come. The structuring in “It Isn’t Perfect”, with the well-executed pauses in the final chorus, in addition to the infectiously sanguine quality throughout, demonstrates nothing short of genre mastery, while the “Sticks and Stones”-era breakdown capping off the EP recalls the greats without feeling overly derivative. This is strong music, made by fans of the genre, that can be enjoyed by all.

Universal pop punk certainly seems rather oxymoronic, but Midwest Skies has a knack for celebrating their favorite music in such a way that’s far more appealing than imitative. Their music is meant more for emotion and community than hype. Far too many bands these days focus on the image, and Midwest Skies embodies the paradigm for the right way to play: do what you love, and be yourself when doing it.